Torchlight

Torchlight is a typical hack & slay role-playing game: the player explores a game world with randomly generated caves, ruins and mines, kills opponents and boss monsters using weapons and various skills, while following a framework that drives the game forward. Over time he collects equipment and develops his hero in a battle direction of his choice. The city of Torchlight is the starting point for the explorations and offers dealers and quest givers as well as the opportunity to store items and exchange them between characters.

Characters

The three character classes represented in the game are based on the basic classes of the role-playing game: The melee fighter ( Destroyer ), the ranged fighter ( Vanquisher ) and the magician ( Alchemist ). The hero's characteristics are defined by the four attributes: strength (melee damage) , dexterity (long-range combat damage) , magic (elemental damage) and defense (amount of absorbed damage). For every level up the player receives 5 points, which he distributes to the attributes. The amount of life and mana points automatically increase by fixed values. Each of the classes also has 3 skill trees with 10 skills each , similar to Diablo II . Each skill tree consists of 5 class-specific, active skills and 5 passive, cross-class skills. The exception is the alchemist, whose skill trees have 6 active skills. This allows each of the three classes to develop in different directions. Finally, the player gains fame by completing quests and killing special, powerful monsters . If he has gained enough fame, his reputation increases by one level and he receives an additional skill point.

The player also receives an animal companion at the beginning of the game. He chooses between a wolf-like dog and a lynx-like big cat. There is also a kite-like creature available exclusively for Xbox 360 gamers. The companion supports the hero by attacking opponents independently and using magic he has been taught. He can be equipped with rings and amulets and carries objects and can sell them independently in the city on command.

Objects

In Torchlight there are a variety of different items: In addition to weapons and armor parts of various quality levels, the player will find potions, pieces of embers with magical properties and scrolls. There are five different quality levels in the game: Standard , the simplest level without magical additions, and magical , which usually has one or two magical additions, can be found in large quantities. The next level, rare , already has significantly more enchantments and a mostly unique appearance. The hardest to find are unique items with a large number of magical additions and set items that have more bonuses the more pieces of the set the player wears.

The weapons themselves are divided into three categories: On the one hand, melee weapons, i.e. swords, clubs and axes in one- and two-handed form. Furthermore, ranged weapons, bows, crossbows and firearms and finally magical weapons, here wands and wands .

The armor parts have a different appearance for each class. Since heavier armor requires a high defensive value, magicians and ranged fighters are mostly limited to light armor and are therefore much more vulnerable to physical damage.

The choice of potions is limited to healing and mana potions, which are available in different quality levels. The player can buy these or find them in the game.

There are many forms of scrolls: First, the consumable identification scrolls known from Diablo, which reveal the initially secret properties of magical objects, and teleport scrolls that open a portal into the city. There are also roles that teach the player certain spells: conjurations, damage spells and the possibility of temporarily improving oneself or damaging the opponent.

The player has the opportunity to fish at various points in the game. The fish caught in a mini-game can be sold or used. Different fish have different effects. Either they can be used like potions . Or the hero feeds him to his companion animal, which temporarily transforms it into a different shape, e.g. B. that of a jellyfish or an elemental being .

Furthermore, objects can be improved in two ways: Found pieces of embers are pocked in objects to give them their magical properties. In addition, an NPC can upgrade an already magical item for a fee. However, there is a chance that all magical additives will be lost.

action

The hero of the game starts in the small town of Torchlight. This was built over a mine, in which the rare ore embers are mined. This ore is not only the basis of magic, but is also used for the magical enchantment of weapons and armor. However, the workers unintentionally opened access to old, lower-lying areas from which monsters threaten to overrun the city.

The player reaches Torchlight in a time of constant attacks from the mines. He supports the magician Syl , who came to Torchlight in search of her master Alric . However, it soon turns out that Alric has been corrupted by the power of the ember. His reputation was a trap, and the following events result in both the death of Syl's companion, Brink, and the poisoning of the hero with embers.

In search of a cure and Alric , who fled into the depths of the mines, the hero goes to the burial chambers below the mine. There he learns from the mine foreman's diary that there is a concentrated, pure form of the glowing stone that could save the hero. Syl hopes to find this glowing stone in the glowing stone forges of the dwarves who lived there centuries ago, far below the burial chambers. On the way there, the hero crosses tropical, underground ruins, in which an advanced civilization once lived. These closed the portals to the lower areas of the mines in order to seal the dangerous power of the embers.

The player receives a number of different quests over the course of the game . These are divided into two groups: The primary quests, which advance the story, and which the player completes as the game progresses. In addition, the secondary ones, which do not belong to the course of the story itself, but reward the hero with items, gold and fame when they are fulfilled. Recurring side tasks are e.g. B. the killing of special boss opponents for a robot bard who wants to write a song on the hero, an alchemist who rewards the player for finding special types of embers.

development

The game was developed by Runic Games . The studio was founded by former Blizzard employees such as Max Schaefer, Erich Schaefer and Peter Hu, as well as by Travis Baldree, who was formerly the main developer of Fate at WildTangent , which the game is also very reminiscent of.

The music and sound effects come from Matt Uelmen , who was responsible for the soundtracks for Diablo , Diablo II and World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade .

The game is based on the open source graphics engine OGRE .

distribution

Initially, Torchlight was only available as a download. The game can be downloaded directly from torchlightgame.com and is unlocked with a key that you receive after paying $ 14.95 (originally $ 19.95) via PayPal or Google Wallet . The game is also available on Steam and from other partner services such as Perfect World, GamersGate, Encore, Gameware.at, WildTangent and Direct2Drive.

The Austrian publisher JoWooD had secured the rights for distribution in Europe (excluding France and Benelux) . The publication of a “boxed version” for the trade was originally planned for March 23, 2010, since April 6, 2010 the German-language version has been available in stores.

Since May 12, 2010, Torchlight has also been available for Mac OS via Steam .

The developer Runic announced on May 17, 2010 that a total of half a million copies had been sold. A year later, the million mark was broken.

The game was released on Xbox Live Arcade on March 9, 2011 . Microsoft acted as the publisher. From November 25-30, 2014, the English Windows version of Torchlight 1 was released for free on ArcGames.com.

Modifications

Torchlight offers ample opportunities for players to change the game and create their own content. To that end, Runic Games has released as a free download the tools they used to create the game. The editor called "TorchED" offers the possibility to adjust player, monster and item values, translate content and test edited levels right within the editor. You can also customize quest events, scripts and the general balance of the game. The use of freely available file formats enables models and animations to be imported without any problems.

With these funds, the modification Fackelschein 2.0 was created, which translates the game, which is officially only available in English, into German. However, there is now an official purchase version in German. Further modifications include new character classes, play areas, quest givers and traders.

reception

The game received a lot of media attention shortly after its release and received a large number of good reviews in game magazines and video game websites.

PC Games : 84/100
GameSpot : 8.0 / 10
GamesRadar : 9/10
GameStar : 80/100
Game library : 82/100
Sofa Heroes Xbox 360 Version : 8/10

The game won the RPGFan E3 2009 Awards in the PC RPG category and the Game Developers Choice Awards 2010 in the Best Debut Game category .

Torchlight II

On September 20, 2012, Torchlight II was released. The innovations include a multiplayer mode (online, LAN and peer-to-peer ), four new character classes with customizable gender and appearance as well as game worlds on the surface with several cities, day and night changes and weather effects. The game elements that were adopted from the first part include the companion animal, the randomly generated dungeons and fishing.

Web links

Official website for the game (English)
Torchlight at MobyGames (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Runic Games : HAPPY BIRTHDAY TORCHLIGHT!

↑ http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTE4NzY

↑ ^a ^b Golem.de : Game test: Torchlight - the surprise Diablo

↑ http://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=10985

↑ http://www.pcgames.de/Mythos-PC-165620/News/Mythos-Diablo-2-Torchlight-Die-drei-Hack-and-Slay-Spiele-im-Vergleich-816593/

↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from April 12, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
^ MobyGames : Max Schaefer
^ MobyGames : Travis Baldree
↑ Original Sound Version: Stay Awhile And Listen: Matt Uelmen Talks Torchlight (Interview with Matt Uelmen)
↑ http://www.runicgames.com/
↑ Patch 1.15 released, February 4, 2010 at 2:59 pm
↑ Steam available for the Mac , message from May 12, 2010 at macnotes.de
↑ kotaku.com: Torchlight Sells Half A Million (English). News from May 18, 2010; Retrieved June 10, 2010
↑ gamasutra.com: Torchlight Sells One Million (English). News dated July 6, 2011; Retrieved July 19, 2011
↑ http://www.torchlightgame.com/gamenews/2011/01/06/torchlight-coming-to-xbla/
↑ See ArcGames.com: Torchlight Free For A Limited Time On Arc! (2014-1125-0900 PST), accessed 2014-1127-1616.
↑ Torchlight: Editor for the "Diablo 2.5" published by Golem.de , November 11, 2009, accessed on January 15, 2010
↑ Torchlight 2.0 - Torchlight in German ( Memento of the original from February 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Mod for Torchlight, accessed January 15, 2010 @1@ 2

↑ Torchlight Mods: The 10 Best Mods for Hack'n'Slay - Update: New Classes, Dungeons and Pet Mods from PCGames, January 7, 2010, accessed on January 15, 2010

↑ Runic Games : Press ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2012 on WebCite ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ ^a ^b PC Games 13/09, p. 80.
↑ GameStar : Test: Torchlight - Small price, great action role-playing game
↑ ^a ^b GamesRadar : Torchlight: Dusty old isometric crypt-looting gleams in these retro dungeons
↑ GameSpot : Torchlight Impressions
↑ GameStar : Rating of Torchlight
↑ Game library : Evaluation of Torchlight ( Memento of the original from January 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ sofa heroes : Xbox 360 Evaluation of Torchlight
↑ rpgfan.com: RPGFan Feature - E3 2009 Awards
↑ 2010 Special Awards Recipients on the Game Developers Choice Awards website

[1] Runic Games : HAPPY BIRTHDAY TORCHLIGHT!

[2] ttp://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTE4NzY

[golem-3] Golem.de : Game test: Torchlight - the surprise Diablo

[4] ttp://forums.runicgames.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=10985

[5] ttp://www.pcgames.de/Mythos-PC-165620/News/Mythos-Diablo-2-Torchlight-Die-drei-Hack-and-Slay-Spiele-im-Vergleich-816593/